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Today's Opinions

Be careful what you wish for! For as long as I can remember, Coloradans of all political persuasions have lamented the fact that we weren’t players in presidential politics. We weren’t players in the nominating process because of our timing and relatively few delegates. We weren’t players in general elections because we were such a lock for the Republican nominee. A Democrat hasn’t had the majority of presidential votes in Colorado since I started voting.

With primary season ending and the general election ramping up, we’re once again being inundated with political advertisements on television and radio. These ads have a predictable style and rhythm, depending on their source and whether they are for or against a candidate.

The most common type is the positive ad from the candidate — well-lit, focused and upbeat. Mountains are often visible in the background. There may be some general discussion about issues, but it’s usually vague.

Six summers ago, in the blistering drought of 2002, virtually all adult trout in Bear Creek were killed from the Evergreen Dam downstream at least as far as Idledale. The problem was a lethal combination of low flows, high temperatures and oxygen-robbing algae blooms. Although the community responded splendidly when watering restrictions were called, it was not enough to save the trout, and the EPA subsequently placed the creek on Colorado’s statewide list of “impaired streams.”

Does it seem to our regular readers that Kelly and I are going in circles? This week we literally are as we debate Evergreen’s first roundabout. Change is a mantra for those of us on the left. Putting in a traffic improvement such as a circle suits us just fine. Traffic engineer Tim Murray says there are only 16 potential conflict points in a traffic circle, while a four-way intersection has 64.

The New York Times recently ran an interesting front-page article about Diane McLeod, a Philadelphia woman who is struggling to dig herself out from under a mountain of consumer debt. Her plight is hardly unique. According to the Times, the average household carries credit card debt of $8,565, which is 15 percent higher than in 2000.

Other statistics are equally sobering. The Times reports that “household debt, including mortgages and credit cards, represents 19 percent of household assets, according to the Fed, compared with 13 percent in 1980.”

Cougars and Chargers and Rebs, oh my! The Colorado High School Activities Association announced 2007-08 academic team champions last week, and Evergreen, Columbine and Chatfield high schools are among our state’s elite.

When you gaze up at the familiar view west of Denver, it’s humbling to think that those mountains have looked almost exactly the same for hundreds of generations. Long before the first French Canadian and American trappers crossed the plains and chronicled the stunning and surprising “Shining Mountains,” this scenery was familiar to the Cheyennes, Utes, Arapahos and Kiowas, who occupied what is now the Denver metro area.